10 Celebrity 'Game of Thrones' Cameos You Definitely Missed

From Coldplay to George W. Bush.

By
Robyn Munson

Jul 9, 2017

HBO

What with Game of Thrones being one of the biggest shows on the planet and all, it's no wonder that even the starriest of celebrities (Ed Sheeran has confirmed he'll be appearing in season 7) are now elbowing each other out of the way to wangle themselves a ticket to Westeros.

And many of them have succeeded. But between all of those epic battles, bloody weddings and skull-crushing murders, we're betting you barely even noticed said famous faces cropping up in Qarth or wielding weapons at The Wall.

Here are 10 Game of Thrones cameos you probably need reminding of.

1. Coldplay's Will Champion

When he's not touring the world with Coldplay, it seems that Chris Martin's bandmate has a surprising side hustle as a wedding drummer. Yep, Will Champion can be seen making sweet, sweet music up in the rafters of the Frey house during season three's the Red Wedding, right before the bedding ceremony. And we all know how that went down.

2. Sigur Rós

Proof that not even a hugely successful indie band can escape the wrath of Joffrey Baratheon, Sigur Rós made a surprise appearance in season four as Joffrey's very familiar-looking wedding band, but were soon sent packing when the young King got bored and starts lobbing coins at them. One of the rubber coins even hit drummer Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson in the face, injuring him. Makes Glastonbury look tame.

3. David Benioff's parents

One of the perks of being a Game Of Thrones producer is that your parents get first dibs when it comes to playing extras—David Benioff's mom and dad made a cameo as a pair of peasants on the way to King's Landing in the season four premiere. Although they looked pretty convincing to us, Benioff's dad is more at home in a pinstripe suit than a pauper's robes. As well as being the former head of Goldman Sachs, he was also once a member of the George Bush administration.

4. Animal Circus's Joel Fry

One of those GoT characters whose name is never said out loud, Hizdahr zo Loraq is actually lead singer of East London band Animal Circus in real life, whose output is part rock and roll, part folk. Joel Fry popped up in seasons four and five as a former slave trader of Meereen and love interest of Daenerys'. Every man's dream cameo, then.

5. Dr. Feelgood's Wilko Johnson

The famous guitarist might not have said much on the show, but Johnson definitely brought some serious gravitas to his role as mute executioner Ser Ilyn Payne (who appeared on Arya's "hit list") in GoT seasons one and two. We mean, just look at that face. In real life, Wilko's known for his strumming talents in '70s band Dr. Feelgood, whose early sound was once credited as being one of the founding influences of the punk movement. Pretty cool.

6. Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody

Yep, another famous musician who blagged his way onto the GoT set is Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody. Doing what he does best, Lightbody can be seen singing "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" on horseback in season four while playing an unnamed troubadour who led Roose Bolton's men to Harrenhal.

7. Mastodon

After penning the appropriately eerie "White Walker" song for the GoT mixtape, heavy metal band Mastodon reportedly received a personal invite from executive producer Dan Weiss (who's a big fan) to go and do their best Wildling impressions. Three of the band members blended in with the extras during season five's "Hardhome," only to meet a seriously sticky end at the hands of the White Walkers. Oh.

8. Neil Fingleton

While his name might not mean much to you, Neil Fingleton—who played humongous Wilding Mag the Mighty—was actually very famous before his stint on GoT, having previously nabbed roles in Dr Who, X-Men: First Class, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Why? Because until his death earlier this year, he was the UK's tallest man at 7'7". Sadly, Neil passed away from heart failure in February.

9. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

Show creators Benioff and Weiss appeared in season five in the creepy House of Black's Hall of Faces. Over 600 face molds were made for the Hall, with prosthetics supervisor Barry Gower's mom also making an appearance—hers is the face that Ayra Stark touches. "She was delighted," Gower said.

10. George W. Bush's head (*bonus extra*)

OK, so Bush himself didn't actually appear in the show. But his head did. In the season one episode where King Joffrey makes wife-to-be Sansa Stark gaze upon the severed heads of his traitors (nice), eagled-eyed viewers couldn't help but liken one of the dismembered heads to that of former President George W Bush. "George Bush's head appears in a couple of beheading scenes," GoT creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss confirmed in the season one DVD commentary. "It's not a choice, it's not a political statement. We just had to use whatever head we had around." However, the pair were later forced to apologize after angry Republicans branded the scene "offensive."

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Marie Claire participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.